Oilers Working to Free Up Extra Cap Space for Deadline Trade

Mark Spector reports that the Edmonton Oilers are working on trying to make another deal before the NHL trade deadline expires. That said, the way they’re going to do it is money in, money out. As such, Spector suggests the Oilers are looking at a few trade options to send out a contract that would give them more flexibility.

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He listed Evander Kane ($5.1M AAV), Jeff Skinner ($3M AAV), and John Klingberg ($1.75 M AAV) all as possibilities to create cap room.

Evander Kane

The Oilers are acting at this deadline as though they now know that Kane isn’t coming back during the regular season. In the trade that saw them acquire defenseman Jake Walman, Edmonton took on all of his $3.4 million cap hit. Spector said the Oilers were waiting on news on Kane’s health, but realistically had an answer, but didn’t want to say anything until Friday’s deadline.

Jeff Skinner

Skinner has a no-move clause, but some are wondering if the Oilers have been sending not-so-subtle messages to the veteran forward that he’s not going to play in the playoffs. Despite his improved play, he’s been a healthy scratch with other less-deserving forwards getting spots ahead of him. Even as the Oilers have struggled and lost several games out of the 4 Nations break, Skinner wasn’t getting ice time.

Could Skinner finally agree to waive his no-move clause if the Oilers can find a playoff team willing to take him on? He just wants to play in the postseason as he’s never done so in his career.

John Klingberg

Klingberg signed a one-year, prorated deal to see if he had anything left in the tank after a serious injury. He’s not been bad, but he’s arguably not been the solution either. He lacks trade protection and has a $1.755 million cap hit.

With the addition of Walman, Klingberg is arguably expendable now. Might the Oilers have realized that he’s not the fix the team was hoping he would be and trying to find a team to take him on? PuckPedia notes, that after acquiring Walman, the Oilers have $301K Cap Space remaining in LTIR with 24 active players (13F/9D/2G). They also note that sending defenseman Cam Dineen (who played great in the Oilers overtime win over Montreal on Thursday) down would bring their space up to $1.08M. They note that adding Frederic to LTIR brings their space $1.65 million.

What can the Oilers do with the cap space they have and potentially free up?

Next: NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup: Oilers, Leafs, Flyers, Stars, Bruins